Saeed Ajmal: “When Naseem doesn’t play; we have often seen they find it hard to tackle with the new ball. In that case, if Imad is in the team, he can bowl three to four overs and can act as a substantial option for us”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Saeed Ajmal believes Imad Wasim can be a good new ball replacement for Naseem Shah whenever the fast bowler doesn’t play an ODI.
Imad hasn’t played ODI cricket since November 2020 but Ajmal feels that he should be included in the squad going forward.
He noted that if Naseem is not playing a match and the men in green are struggling to make full use of the new ball, they can opt to utilise Imad.
“Pakistan often struggles with the new ball except for Shaheen (Shah Afridi) and Naseem, or when Naseem doesn’t play; we have often seen they find it hard to tackle with the new ball. In that case, if Imad is in the team, he can bowl three to four overs and can act as a substantial option for us,” Ajmal told Cricket Pakistan.
“Later on, Haris Rauf, (Mohammad) Wasim Jnr and Shaheen can join him with the old ball. In this way, Imad can play a supporting role in the middle, which is extremely important for any team.”
Pakistan recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a two-match Test series and will now go up against Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series that will be held in Sri Lanka from August 22 to 26.
After that, the men in green will feature in the Asia Cup, which will be hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Squad for Afghanistan ODI Series and 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel (Afghanistan series only), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr